The abalone tagging study initiated in the fall of last year continued in the fall of 1993. The study maps the location of abalone on a line in deep water. The abalone are brought ashore to be tagged, weighed, and measured. They are then returned to within inches of their original locations. Several dives were made over three days and over 100 abalone were tagged. One of the abalone was taken by a diver last spring and was shown to a DFG sampler who happened to be at Van Damme study site at the time. The abalone had been taken over 100 yards from its tagged location. Another tag was turned in recently from an abalone that had moved almost 200 yards. The project is hoping that tagged abalone will not be taken by sport divers. It is hoped that tagged abalone taken in the future will be left alone or be turned over to a DFG worker if one is present at the time. DFG workers will collect tagged abalone for recording of location, length, and weight. Recovered abalone will be returned to the water to be allowed to continue growth and hopefully be measured again later. -KK
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